


Alternate

by fuckthenaysayers



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Bathrooms, Breakfast, Diners, Drinking, Ficlet, Glasses, M/M, Pickpockets, apartment life au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-07
Updated: 2014-10-09
Packaged: 2018-02-12 06:40:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2099373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fuckthenaysayers/pseuds/fuckthenaysayers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I uh... I ordered blueberry pancakes."</p><p>The waitress paled, picking up the plate without a word and going over to another booth. Geoff could see the tops of auburn curls, and grimaced a bit as he realized who they had mixed him up with. Again. The waitress came back and set his plate down in front of him, murmuring multiple apologies before rushing off. She'd spewed so many sorries in the past few days that even she seemed to be getting tired of it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Wallet

**Author's Note:**

> this is a series of different AUs and chance meetings. Summary will update with each new chapter.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> kissed them as a distraction while stealing their wallet au (Michael/Gavin)

Gavin looked a little out of place right now. Dressed very nicely, he stood awkwardly on a bus in Trenton, heading to a business meeting. He wasn't from around here, it was obvious just from his voice, but he didn't look anxious despite the many eyes on him. He just stood there, holding onto the railing and staring blankly at the window across from him. His eyes only moved when the bus stopped, casually glancing at the new passengers that joined.

One caught his eye. He was dressed roughly, in jeans that sagged and a wife beater, his arms covered by a thin blue jacket, a beanie that looked worse-for-wear on his head flattening his brown curls down. He came on alone, grabbing the railing across from Gavin and looking around with a bored face. His eyes stopped on Gavin, who'd forgotten to look away. He smiled a bit, and Gavin smiled back awkwardly, his heart fluttering a little at the look.

The curly-haired man bit his lip a bit, giving a look at clearly stated he was checking Gavin out. Gavin blushed brightly, his eyes flickering down for a second, embarrassed and excited. It was rare someone was so bluntly checking him out like that, even rarer so that it was a guy. The man took a chance when the bus stopped and switched railings, joining Gavin on his, only inches away from him.

"Hey."

"Hello."

Gavin replied, the man grinning a little.

"I'm Michael, what's your name?"

"Gavin. I'm Gavin."

"Nice to meetcha, Gavin. So, what brings a guy like you to Trenton?"

"I-I'm in town for a business meeting, actually."

"Ooh, a business man, eh? I like that. I've never had a hoity-toity job like that, always wondered what I'd look like in a suit."

"I'm sure you clean up quite nice."

"You think so?"

Michael was still grinning playfully, Gavin smiling shyly and nodding a bit.

"That's real nice of you to say. Not to say I dislike my job or anything, it'd just be interesting to do something more...serious."

"What do you do?"

"I'm an electrician. And part-time pickpocket."

"Oh! Wait, what?"

Gavin looked confused for a second, and then shocked as Michael leaned in and kissed him roughly, a hand grabbing at his hip. Despite them being in public, Gavin couldn't bring himself to pull away from the surprisingly soft lips that captured his. In fact, he'd just begun to return the kiss when Michael pulled away, smiling slyly as the bus rolled to a stop.

"Maybe I'll see ya around, Gavin."

He hurried off the bus, leaving the Brit in a confused daze. It wasn't until he got off at his own stop and felt his pockets that he realized what had just happened.

"That bastard stole my wallet!"

Gavin was red with anger and embarrassment, storming into the office he was having a meeting at and heading into the bathroom, pacing angrily. He couldn't call the police right now, the meeting was more important in the end. So he sat through the meeting, quietly fuming. He was lucky enough to have kept a few bills out of his wallet and took the bus back to his hotel, fully on guard against strangers now.

He had to get a new room key from upfront, grumbling as he got into his hotel room and collapsed onto the bed. Gavin knew he should call and cancel all his cards and such first thing, but he needed to cool off first. He took a long shower and a nap, waking up to the sound of the hotel phone ringing. Clumsily, he grabbed at it and pulled the receiver to his head.

"Hello?"

"Mister Free? A young man just left your wallet at the front desk, he said he found it on the bus?"

Gavin woke up fully in an instant, hanging up the phone and rushing downstairs. He was out of breath when he got to the front desk, the young woman there looking at him with surprise.

"Is he still here?"

He asked, huffing a bit. The woman shook her head, handing him his wallet and a folded piece of paper.

"He did leave a note for you, though."

Gavin looked in his wallet first, shocked to find everything as it was, even the forty dollars cash he'd had. He mumbled a thank you to the woman and wandered back towards the elevator, unfolding the paper.

'I felt bad about it after I realized how good a kisser you were. ;)

I could show you some fun stuff around Trenton, if you'll forgive me.

I won't steal your shit again, promise! <3'

Underneath was Michael's name, and a number. Gavin stared at the paper with utter shock, laughing a little at the ridiculousness of the entire situation. Normally his first inclination would be to give that number to the cops, but in the end he ended up calling it himself, with a blush and a little smile on his face.


	2. Number

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> saw their number graffitied on a toilet stall au (Michael/Gavin)

Gavin stumbled into the bathroom of the bar he was currently at, his nose crinkling in disgust at the state of the bathroom. Why were bar bathrooms always so disheveled? He tiptoed over stray paper towels, pointedly avoiding a puddle of unknown liquid which he almost slipped in and got into the single stall. It was relatively cleaner than the urinals, and he preferred sitting anyways. Especially when he was already tipsy.

Pulling his pants down and sitting down, he found himself eye level with some graffiti. Not shocking, there was scribbles and scrawling all over the stall, but this one happened to catch his eye.

'Angriest fuck I've ever had, give him a call'

Underneath that was a name and number. Gavin giggled a bit, mostly surprised that it was a male name there. Michael. Finishing up in the bathroom, he pulled his pants back up, pulling out his phone. In his partial-drunken state, the idea of calling up this random number was the best thing he could do right now. It took him three tries to dial it properly, and it was answered after a few rings.

"H'llo?"

The voice was decidedly male. Gavin grinned stupidly.

"Is this Michael?"

"Yeah?"

"So, Michael. Some bloke has decided to tell everyone who uses the stall at Dale's that you're the angriest fuck he's ever had. Izzat true? Is angry sex fun?"

There was silence for a minute, and Gavin looked at his phone in confusion.

"Michael?"

"What's your name, drunky?"

"Gavin!"

Gavin responded happily, pacing aimlessly in the bathroom as he spoke.

"Well Gavin, how's about you stay right there and maybe I'll let you experience it firsthand."

"Wh-wait, what?"

The Brit got a bit flustered at that, blushing as he heard laughter on the other side of the line.

"You said Dale's, right?"

"Yeah..."

The phone went dead after a minute more, and Gavin realized that he'd been hung up on. Pouting a little, he shoved his phone back in his pocket and was about to leave when the door burst open. A curly-haired man was there, storming inside and heading straight to the stall. He opened the door and pulled out a permanent marker, coloring over the graffiti with Michael's name and number on it.

"O-Oi!"

Gavin called out, confused. The other man turned to him when he finished, and Gavin got a good look at him. A little bit shorter, with auburn curls that poked out from a gray beanie. He was a bit stocky, but looked in shape, Gavin noting his nice arms with the video game tattoos on them especially. He smiled, and the Brit felt his heart flutter.

"Gavin, I'm guessing? I gotta thank you dude, I've been having drunk perverts calling me for the past week and none of them ever said where they got my number from. It was driving me up the fucking wall."

"Oh? Oh! Um, you're welcome... Michael."

"Can I buy you a drink? That'd be a good thank you, right?"

"Sure, mate, that'd be absolutely top."

"Top, right..."

Michael repeated with a little laugh, the two heading out of the bathroom and to the bar. They got their drinks and sat at a little booth alone, starting to talk. Gavin was utterly shocked at how easily they got along, laughing and joking like they were old friends. Still, the little suggestion Michael had made on the phone kept floating about his head, and the longer the night went on, the more he focused on it.

They didn't end up leaving until 2 am, both a bit sloshed and giggly as they walked down the street. Michael was leading, and Gavin more than happy to follow. They ended up at an apartment building, and Gavin looked up at it with confusion, unsure where they were.

"Wanna come up?"

Michael asked, his smile suggestive enough to make Gavin's heart leap into his throat, making his response choked and unintelligible. The curly-haired man laughed brightly at it, as Gavin's face burned in embarrassment.

"W-We only just met..."

"Gav, don't get all serious on me, what's wrong with a bit of fun? Didn't I promise you a firsthand experience?"

Gavin felt like he was about to keel over from anxiousness. He was never the type to go home with someone the first time he met them, though that was mainly because he was terrible at flirting. Michael seemed more than happy to lead though, and the more he thought about it, the more he wanted to join him.

"...Okay."

Michael's smile brightened, and the two headed inside, giggling like teenagers as they stumbled into the elevator. Michael grabbed Gavin's collar and tugged him down, catching his lips in a rough kiss. Gavin returned it gently, his hands awkwardly encircling Michael's waist as he leaned down to kiss him properly. They only pulled away when the elevator dinged, getting off at the 8th floor. He felt like he was floating on cloud nine as he followed Michael to a door, the man unlocking it and about to open it when he stopped and turned to Gavin.

"Before I let you in here, you gotta promise me you won't end up writing my number on some crappy bar's bathroom stall. No matter how good a fuck I am."

Gavin looked surprised, expecting something serious for a moment, before laughing loudly and nodding.

"If you're as good as you seem, I'll keep you all to myself."


	3. Glasses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> trying on glasses frames at the same time au (Joel/Ray)

Ray stared at his reflection, the image mostly blurry from how far away he was. He walked closer, inches from the mirror and scowled slightly. Pulling off the frames, he placed them back on the wall next to him and grabbed a different pair, putting them on and yanking them off almost instantly.

"God this sucks."

He muttered under his breath, talking to no one, just venting to the emptiness. He hadn't expected a response.

"What sucks?"

Hearing another person's voice made him jolt in shock, turning slightly to view a blurry shape that he guessed was another customer since the only clerk was busy with someone else.

"I fucked up my old frames and they don't make them anymore so uh, I'm having trouble deciding on new ones."

"It's a difficult process, sometimes. You know, most people come with someone else so they could get a second opinion."

"My friend was supposed to help but he bailed for a date, and I already made the appointment so I thought I'd just figure it out on my own."

The blur chuckled, and Ray swore he could see movement on the other person's face, but not enough to really make them out. His glasses were off on the counter somewhere, and he felt it'd be weird to put them on just to look at who was talking to him.

"If you'd like, I could give you a second opinion. At least you know I won't be biased, I don't know you after all."

"That'd be pretty helpful, actually. Oh, I'm Ray."

He offered his hand awkwardly, thankful when the blurry stranger took it and shook it gently.

"Joel."

The two wandered through the store together, Ray trying on pair after pair, a few being set aside for a maybe pile but so far no real successes. There wasn't any rush, so the two took their time, making casual conversation between choices.

"So Joel, I'm guessing you don't just spend your time wandering the glasses store and helping people choose frames, right?"

"I'm getting some reading glasses done right now. Just had to up my prescription so only the lenses are being changed."

"Lucky. I wish I only had to wear glasses to read. I'm blind as a fucking bat without them, hence why I'm like almost making out with my reflection every time I check out some specs."

"I used to not even need glasses, actually. But I'm getting older and my eyes just get so strained trying to read or use my computer now."

Ray squinted a bit and leaned in slightly. He still had yet to get a proper look at the man helping him choose his glasses. He certainly didn't sound very old, but he was acting like he was.

"You can't be that old, can you?"

"43 this September 16th."

The younger man couldn't help but gawk, both at the age and the date.

"You're fucking with me, is your birthday really September 16th?"

"Yeah?"

"Mine's the 15th! Granted like... probably 19, 20 years after you, but damn, that's nuts."

Joel laughed brightly at the surprising coincidence, Ray just making out the corners of his eyes crinkling with a smile. Ray smiled too, the two delving into conversation again as they kept looking. Eventually Joel pulled off a frame and handed it to Ray with a confident flourish.

"These are the ones. I can feel it."

They were plastic frames, black and somewhat thin. Like two steps below those typical hipster-type frames he saw everywhere. He looked them over in his hands, unsure.

"I dunno Joel, I've always worn metal frames."

"Then you're due for a change."

Unable to disagree, Ray slipped them on and let Joel have the first look at him. It was hard to tell just what face Joel was pulling, but he guessed it was good from the happy 'ooh's he kept making. Turning and moving close, he looked himself over in the mirror and was surprised at how right they looked on his face. They weren't so big that they meshed with his thick eyebrows, but not so thin that there wasn't any substance to them.

They framed his face well, and within seconds Ray handed them in as his choice, feeling excited to have a pair of glasses that really suited him. Joel was seated at the little desk Ray had been at earlier, the bent and broken frames Ray had come in with in his hands.

"Might as well be able to see until they finish them, right?"

Ray rejected the proffered frames, smiling awkwardly.

"I kinda wanna see you properly with my new glasses first. Plus my old ones are so fucked up I'd be super embarrassed to wear them around the mall."

"What did you even do to them?"

"Fell asleep with them on and stepped on them getting out of bed."

Joel chuckled, setting them back down and standing up.

"Well then, could I treat you to some ice cream while we wait for our glasses to be finished?"

Ray grinned.

"Sounds good with me."

The two left the small glasses shop, Joel being sure to stay close and make sure Ray didn't walk into anything as they got ice cream at the food court and strolled through the mall together, talking happily together the entire time. By the time they returned both their glasses were finished, each man grabbing their pair and slipping them on. Ray instantly turned to Joel, taking in his form unblurred for the first time.

He could feel his cheeks heating up already as his eyes scanned over the taller man. A styled, kind of poofy haircut, wild eyes and a thin face, a scruffy-looking patch of hair covering his chin. He was thin and dressed nicely, and the thin wire frames he'd bought suited him well too. Ray groaned a little, hiding his face in his hands as Joel looked at him worriedly.

"What's wrong?"

There was silence, and then Ray mumbled something that made Joel burst into laughter.

"You're way too cute to be 42."


	4. Mail

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> mail keeps coming to the wrong address au (Michael/Gavin)

The first time it happened, Michael hadn't even noticed first. Why would he? He'd always gotten his mail, and his alone, why would he check that? So when he opened up a letter that was about a work visa, he was plenty confused. He didn't even understand until he looked at the envelope and saw the mistake.

'Gavin Free  
36 Falcon Road Apartment 3'

Michael lived in the third apartment, so no wonder it was in his mail slot, but he lived alone. He hadn't even heard of someone named Gavin Free, though he knew someone new moved in a couple weeks ago. With the open envelope in hand, he headed back downstairs to the mail boxes, eyes scanning over them all until he found one with the name he'd been looking for.

'Gavin Free  
Apartment 8'

8? Why the hell did it say three then? Maybe it'd been a typo. Shoving the mail into the man's mailbox, he sighed in annoyance and headed back upstairs, the trivial mistake escaping his thoughts by the next day. Or it did, until he found that he'd gotten another letter addressed for Gavin Free in his mailbox. Again, he didn't notice until he got upstairs, grumbling and stomping down the stairs as he shoved it where it belonged.

This became an almost daily occurrence, to the point where Michael was pretty sure every bit of mail meant for Gavin was being sent to him. It was absolutely infuriating, the fact that he now had to check his mail at the lobby to save himself the inevitable trip back down to put Gavin's mail in the right place. At one point, he'd even gotten so fed up with it he tried to confront the stranger about it, but of course he hadn't been home.

So Michael lived with it. For a few weeks he'd been like the secondary mailman, going through his mail and separating Gavin Free's from it, unable to bring himself to just throw it all away. Though that would probably make the stranger realize something was wrong with his mail faster than Michael constantly fixing it for him.

This kept on for a while, until finally one day, they crossed paths. Michael was going through his mail, and just shoved some into Gavin's mail slot.

"Oi, what are you doing at my mail box?"

A voice called out, and Michael's anger boiled in that single second as he realized who was calling to him.

"YOU'RE THE FUCKING ASSHOLE WHOSE MAIL KEEPS-"

He turned, face turning red with fury, totally ready to chew the other man out for the hassle he'd inadvertently set Michael up with, but he stilled as the other came into view. He was tall and lanky, light brown hair styled up and thick stubble covering his jaw. His nose was big, eyes were a strange green. Michael's heart felt like it was getting squeeze, his eyes going wide and mouth snapping shut. Gavin stared at him, utterly confused. Licking his lips and clearing his throat, Michael tried to speak again.

"Your uh, your mail keeps coming to my mail slot. I've been putting your stuff in the right one for weeks now."

"What?!"

Gavin looked shocked, walking closer and unlocking his mailbox, pulling out one of the letters and scrutinizing it. He paled as he realized he'd made a mistake when changing his address, flushing in embarrassment as he turned to Michael.

"I'm terribly sorry, I had no idea! Thank you for not just throwing it all out, I'd be bloody deported by now if I hadn't gotten my work visa paperwork and all that."

"Uh, y-yeah, no... no problem."

"How could I make it up to you? Would you want to go out for coffee or something? I'd really like to thank you."

Michael smiled shyly, rubbing at the back of his neck.

"I mean, sure, but you don't gotta..."

"No, I want to. Are you free now?"

"Yeah. Now's fine."

Gavin smiled brightly, putting his mail back to grab later. He was about to head for the door when he paused, holding out a hand to Michael.

"I'm Gavin Free, though I guess you already know that much."

Michael laughed a little, taking the hand and shaking it firmly.

"Michael Jones."


	5. Mistake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> eating in the same diner every morning and the waitress ALWAYS mixes up our orders so why dont we just sit at the same table to save her the trouble au (Michael/Geoff)

"The two egg special scrambled, side of crispy bacon and wheat toast."

Geoff looked up from his book just as his waitress was walking away, staring at her for a second before looking down at the food in front of him. He had ordered the two egg special, but aside from that every aspect of the order was wrong. He'd wanted the eggs sunny side up, with chewy bacon and white toast, and this was far from that.

"Eggs sunny side up, side of chewy bacon and white toast."

As he heard the waitress call out the order, he realized what happened, about to call out to her when the person she was serving saved him the trouble.

"There's been a mistake. I had scrambled and crispy."

The waitress paused for a moment, flushing with embarrassment as she realized her blunder.

"I'm terribly sorry sir, I mixed up your order with a similar one. I'll get you your food in just a moment."

She picked up the plate she'd set in front of him and hurried over to Geoff, apologies spilling out of her mouth a mile a minute but he just put his hand up and smiled.

"No harm done."

She thanked him for being understanding and switched the meals, Geoff picking up a piece of bacon and taking a bite as he got back into his book.  
\---

"Two egg special sunny side up, side of chewy bacon and white toast."

Michael looked up from his phone, watching his waitress scamper back into the kitchen so fast he couldn't tell if it was the same one from yesterday. In front of him he found that yet again, he'd been delivered the wrong order. Normally that would've been it, and he'd move on to a different diner, but he actually really enjoyed the food here so he'd have to deal with a few screw ups. He waited for the waitress to show her face again, which she did in a couple minutes, with a plate of food that looked suspiciously like the one he was supposed to have.

She brought it over to an older man in the corner booth, his attention solely on a book in his hands, only looking up when the food was placed in front of him. He had a handlebar mustache, and tattoos riddling what parts of his arms Michael could see. An interesting person, at least in the looks department.

"This isn't my order, miss. I get the sunny side up."

Like deja vu, Michael could hear the waitress relay the same apologies she had to him the other day, picking up the plate and looking around a moment before her eyes settled on Michael.

"I'm so sorry sir."

She started, but Michael ignored it, grabbing the pepper and salt and dousing his eggs with it, leaving her to head to the back.  
\---  
After a few days he thought they'd get to know him. It wasn't as if he was a very average-looking person, right? How many morning customers could she have with tattoo-covered arms and droopy blue eyes? One, well probably just one. But with how often the waitress mixed up his order, there might as well have been a dozen of men who looked like him. The man she confused him with didn't even look similar, it was just their orders. From what Geoff noticed of him last time, he was much younger. He had tattoos also, but not nearly as many as Geoff. Plus he had glasses and curly hair, how could there be any mistaking?

He wasn't going to have it today. A change seemed like the best option to not get his food mixed up, so rather than his typical bacon and eggs, he decided to order some blueberry pancakes, topped with whipped cream. Not a typical breakfast choice for him, but it was different enough that he felt confident he'd get the food he ordered for once.

A little while passed before the waitress showed up, dropping off a plate at another table before coming to his and setting it down.

"Chocolate chip pancakes with maple syrup, hold the whipped."

He stared at the pancakes, almost hoping that she had just gotten his order incorrect. He had to mention it, and reluctantly looked at the waitress.

"I uh... I ordered blueberry pancakes."

The waitress paled, picking up the plate without a word and going over to another booth. Geoff could see the tops of auburn curls, and grimaced a bit as he realized who they had mixed him up with. Again. The waitress came back and set his plate down in front of him, murmuring multiple apologies before rushing off. She'd spewed so many sorries in the past few days that even she seemed to be getting tired of it.  
\---  
Two weeks. Two weeks now and every single time Geoff stepped foot in that diner his order was mixed up with the curly-haired guy. And yet he still went there. Mainly because it was the nicest place for food between his house and the office, but also he just couldn't be bothered to try somewhere else. Walking into the diner, he went to his typical corner booth and sat down, the waitress coming by and pouring him a cup of coffee out of habit and handed him a menu.

He was looking it over thoroughly when he heard the quiet noise of someone sitting down, and looked over the menu to see that he was no longer alone at the booth. The curly-haired young man sat across from him, casting him a friendly grin.

"Hey, my name's Michael."

He offered out his hand, which Geoff took tentatively, shaking it firmly.

"Geoff. Can I help you?"

"Well, seeing as that waitress has fucked up our orders every time I've been here, I thought we might as well make it easy on her and sit together for once. Saves us a bit of a hassle too."

Geoff looked rather surprised. He hadn't expected Michael to suggest such a thing, but couldn't really find it in him to reject the offer. It'd been a little while since he had breakfast with someone, and Michael was right in that this was probably the smartest decision they could make. The waitress came over again, pouring Michael a cup of coffee and setting some creamers down along with a menu, looking positively ecstatic.

"Looks like she's happy to not fuck up today too."

Geoff said with a little smile, Michael chuckling as he popped open a couple creamers and stirred them into his coffee before opening up the menu. They didn't talk until the waitress returned, taking Michael's order first.

"Yeah, I'll get the uh... the waffles, maple syrup, no whipped cream."

Geoff laughed under his breath, Michael giving him a curious look until the older man ordered as well.

"I'll get the chocolate chip waffles, no syrup, whipped cream."

The waitress looked a little bothered but still smiled and wrote down their orders before wandering off. Geoff took a sip of his coffee and relaxed, looking over Michael. The two began to have small talk, Geoff asking Michael about his job and Michael returning the question. It soon delved into their tattoos, Geoff delighted to find that Michael was a gamer, and from there the conversation turned to total nerd-dom.

Eventually the waitress returned, setting down the plates of waffles in front of each of them before walking off. Michael stared at his plate. Chocolate chip waffles with whipped cream. In front of Geoff were plain waffles doused in maple syrup. They grinned at each other and swapped the plates before digging in.

They kept up their conversation between bites, ultimately finishing around the same time. The waitress came by with two checks, both of which Geoff snapped up. Michael immediately went to protest, but Geoff stilled him with his hand, getting up from the booth and pulling out his wallet.

"How about you get tomorrow's?"

Michael caught on instantly at the silent invitation, smiling brightly as he got up too.

"I'll see you then."


End file.
